1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a luminous keyboard; in particular, to a thin, low-cost luminous keyboard with higher lighting efficiency.
2. Description of Related Art
A keyboard is an indispensable input device used with a computer for inputting characters, symbols and numbers. When choosing a keyboard, the users consider not only the functionality that a keyboard has but also the appearance of the keyboard. Accordingly, there are many kinds of luminous keyboards available in the market. A luminous keyboard is not only visually appealing, but also convenient when type in the dark.
A conventional luminous keyboard includes a backlight module located beneath the key assembly so that light emitted from the backlight module can be transmitted through the key assembly. For most conventional luminous keyboards, the backlight module is formed by attaching LEDs to a flexible printed circuit (FPC), which is then attached to a light guide plate or a reflection plate. However, this kind of backlight module has the flexible printed circuit with increased thickness and the costs.
In this regard, it is important to reduce the thickness, lower the cost and improve the lighting efficiency of conventional luminous keyboards. The applicant of the present invention provides an improved luminous keyboard to address the above objectives.